This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

In Scarborough-Agincourt, the transit system is set up to get you to a subway stop as fast as possible. That will change once the Sheppard East LRT is built — in 2021, under the current plan — but for now, it’s all about how often the bus comes and how quickly it moves.

The most common conclusion from riders in the area? The bus might move faster on Sundays, but it sure comes a lot less often.

Each week until the election, the Star is visiting various wards in the city to see what residents want changed in their neighbourhood. This week, residents in wards 39, 40 and 41 had their say.

At the intersection of Finch Ave. and Warden Ave., where a new Target store is under construction in the Bridlewood Mall, people waiting for the bus said that for the most part the transit system performs well.

“I’d say the bus gets you to the subway pretty quickly,” said Kirk Longman, who lives in the west end but travels here often for family. “Whether you’re going to Finch Station or Don Mills, or maybe to Scarborough City Centre, once you’re on the bus it doesn’t take long. That express bus is really good.”

Article Continued Below

He was referring to the 199 Rocket bus, which connects Finch Station with Scarborough City Centre. Everyone who lives along that route gave rave reviews to the Star about how fast it gets them where they need to go.

Longman didn’t have much to say over what he’d like to see done differently. “Maybe more buses on the route, but that’s about it,” he said.

Most other transit users had similar thoughts: buses on busy streets here generally get the job done, aside from the occasional traffic jam on Finch.

One man said he’s noticed buses come much more frequently on Markham Rd. lately, which has helped his commute a lot. Another said his only complaint is that it takes so many transfers to get to the airport.

Further south, near the Agincourt GO Station in Ward 40, a few local residents said the bus service is almost always sufficient — except on one particular day of the week.

“It can be annoying on Sundays; the bus only comes every 30 minutes sometimes,” said Ator Isak, who’s lived in the area for about two years.

If Mayor hadn’t campaigned so vigorously against the Sheppard LRT at the beginning of his term, residents here might already be riding trains. Now construction isn’t set to begin for two more years, and it’s the 85 and 190 buses that carry the load on Sheppard.

But for Isak, the buses aren’t a major complaint. “Overall, it’s pretty good,” she said. “It’s just Sundays, really.”

Another commuter waiting at the stop also had a complaint about Sundays — but it wasn’t about bus service.

“It’s so frustrating that the subway doesn’t start running until 9,” she said, requesting her name be withheld. “That makes the commute so long when you have to get to work. Why can’t they start it even just a little earlier?”

Moving east into Ward 41, many transit users said the dividing line between great service and mediocre service is McCowan Rd., where the 190 express bus turns. Once you go east of there, they said, the bus service is a lot worse — and again, Sundays are the worst of all.

Rick Mitchell, standing at the corner of McCowan and Finch, said he rides the bus nearly every day. His biggest issue is with the 39 Finch East bus, which runs a variety of routes at different hours of the day.

“I wish they would run more local stops on the 39, instead of just for two hours in the morning and in the evening,” he said. “Other than that, just the fact that you sometimes get three buses in a row and then nothing. But I guess that’s just going to happen sometimes with traffic.”

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com